Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Dimitri Kozma's Interview for Crack Magazine

I made this interview for Agustín Apud to Crack Art Magazine number 4. Bellow you will see the complete text, on magazine you can see the Spanish version too.

Dimitri Kozma - Interview to a Crack.

CrackMG - Where were you born?

Dimitri Kozma - I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil

CrackMG - Did you go to college? Where did you go? What did you study?

Dimitri Kozma - Yes I did. I have a degree in Plastic Arts, computer graphics and multimedia, from a Sao Paulo College

CrackMG - Where are you living at the present?

Dimitri Kozma - In Vancouver, Canada

CrackMG - Are you working? What are you doing?

Dimitri Kozma - I have my own company in Brasil since 2000, called Orbe Midia (www.orbemidia.com) and I’m starting a new media company in Vancouver.
Also, I’m a freelance worker and I’m open to interesting projects.

CrackMG - If you have to say in a few words, who are you…what are those Word that represents you?

Dimitri Kozma - It’s difficult to define my art by myself. I think it’s is a little surreaI in some works... Weird, perhaps... I like to provoque a reaction, make the audience feel emotions in some kind of way. Working with different layers of interpretation, forcing the person to think about that. Sometimes I use humor to show something more deeply in the human character. Some people realize this sub-text, others just see the superficial reading of the work. I like this individual interpretation.
I do my work in different ways, sometimes working only analogically, drawing, painting or sculpting by hand, sometimes making only digitally, and sometimes mixing the techniques and tools, wich I like most, integrating the real life elements, more organic feeling, with computer.

CrackMG - What is your inspiration to do art?

Dimitri Kozma - I like the surrealists, Dali, Magritte, Duchamp, Breton, Frida, Bosch, Man Ray. To my text, my biggest inspiration is the Brazilian writer Nelson Rodrigues. 50’s comic book from EC, such as Tales From The Crypt was a good inspiration for me too.
On movies, I love Buñuel, I also like Cronenberg, Lynch, Almodovar, Romero, Fulci, Bava, José Mojica Marins, Kubrick, Tarantino, Jodorowsky, Takashi Miike, Argento.
I can’t forget to mention Leon Ferrari, a master in subversive art.
Other clear inspirations are pop art, cartoons, gothic art, experimental and underground art.

CrackMG - Evidently you have your own style, and every topic is reflected in each one of works. This style or way to work is something that you developed or you have a artist as referent that it works in the same way?

Dimitri Kozma - I developed different styles, depending of the objective, public, reason and mood.
In fact, I don’t know an artist who works in the same style than me. I’ve trying to traffic between unique styles and I've developed some visual references so particular in my work.
For example, there’s my cartoon freaky style, those weird characters, with fragile arms, creepy old skin and spooky button inserted eyes. It took me some years to develop this style as unique in my work. Now this is one of my exclusive styles.
In my surreal related art, I work a lot with psychic automatism techniques, with consist in let your mind running free, in the total absence of reason.
I am trying to develop completely different styles all the time. I think it's important to show a variety of techniques and visual results, do not limit the creativity. Conformism is a problem in art, if the artist doesn’t reinvent himself frequently, his work will become weak.

CrackMG - Beyond of the topics that we have in each edition. Who are those artists that are your inspiration?

Dimitri Kozma - On Crack Magazine pages, I see a lot of great new artists who surprise me, for example, Agustín Espina, Gerónimo Ribaya, Adolfo Zeevaert, Jhony Velasco, Ronan Honorato Sene, Matucha and Beto França. They have unique styles with strong personality.

CrackMG - What was the moment that you began with this particular style? What was the opinion, about your art, of the people that surround you?

Dimitri Kozma - I’ve started to work with art since I was very young. So my style has been changing with time.
To begin this particular style, it was a evolving process. I had a necessity to get a unique draw style, with his own characteristics, but it doesn’t happen in one day, one work, it’s a process, it takes time, lots of roughs, studies, the feeling if you are going to the right way.

Now this kind of art is what I want to show, what I want to tell now. In the future it will evolve, trying another techniques and styles. That’s an important part of creation process.
It’s hard to tell my particular opinion about my art, because I difficult to be totally impartial, but I like the way the art is going and at most of cases, I achieve the objective that I want with the work.
The people that surround me are great enthusiasts of my art, they support me and encourage to go on, giving sincere opinion.

An interesting fact is that, depending of public, some style makes more success than another. Each style looks like to get more different targets. When working with art, it’s almost impossible to satisfy everyone. And it is great, that’s the magic of art! There’s a famous quote in Brazil, telling something like: “The unanimity is stupid”.

CrackMG - Do you care about critics? Who is, for you, your principal critic?

Dimitri Kozma - It’s not only your feelings that counts, you need the feedback of critics to know if your message is reaching the other point, the real objective of your work, the public.

I like to know what the others are thinking about my work, If the critic is consistent, It really helps improve.

I consider the principal critic of my art it’s myself. I’m a perfectionist and sometimes I’m still looking for defects on old works. If you give time to a work and later you revisit it, you will find other ways to resolve some issues, it’s interesting.

CrackMG - We where looking for your works and we notice that you had work with companies like HP and Walmart. What do you feel about been working with this type of big and multinationals enterprises?

Dimitri Kozma - It’s another part of design. I’s a good challenge help a company to release his message. You are not totally free, you need to follow some rules, some guidelines, it’s a motivating form to working at.
I don’t see any problem to make that guideline art. It’s essential to split the professional side from the personal side.

An important thing is the moral principles. I would never work, for example, for a cigar company, because I don’t want to take part to a murder project.

CrackMG - What is your opinion about this type of digital magazines like Crack MG? That we have as an objective go out of borders and join the different artist of the World.

Dimitri Kozma - Initiatives like Crack MG are crucial to help the independent art grow up in the World. It creates a network of artists and public and bond this in a way that was never seen before. No censorship or barriers. That is the real free art! I’m a big fan of Crack MG.

CrackMG - Can you give an advice to other artists that are just beginning?

Dimitri Kozma - To new artists that are just beginning: Don’t give up! It’s a long way until you find your own style. It’s a lot of work, but it will worth.

Don’t be afraid to show your work on any available form. Even the negative critics, when it has fundament, can help you improve your art. Just ignore the destructive critics (there will be a lot).
Art is a subjective form of expression, so, if the message inside you is really sincere, you will find your right public.

CrackMG - Dimitri, this space is for you, in order to be able to give us some observations if you want to do it, or add another question that is important to you to be show in this interview.

Dimitri Kozma - Thank you very much for this opportunity at Crack MG. A fantastic democratic space to art and opinion.